Reimagining Fermentation | #PodSaveChocolate Ep67

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The original photo featured (I added the sepia toning and cropped to 16:9) is by an unknown photographer. It was originally published by Arthur W. Knapp, 1920 and reproduced from van Hall's Cocoa, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Public domain from Wikimedia Commons.

When and Where to Watch

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The LIVE episode starts at 10:00 AM PDT/MST (11:00 MDT, 12:00 CDT, 13:00 EDT), on Friday, August 30th, 2024.
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Watch on YouTube, LinkedIn, or Facebook to comment and ask questions live during the episode. The links to all three platforms are:
Reimagining Fermentation | #PodSaveChocolate Ep67
Episode 67 OverviewIn this episode of #PodSaveChocolate, cacao fermentation visionary and maverick Bertus Eskes and I will be discussing his inspiration, jou…

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Episode 67 Overview In this episode of #PodSaveChocolate, cacao fermentation visionary and maverick Bertus Eskes and I will be discussing his inspiration…

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Reimagining Fermentation | #PodSaveChocolate Ep67
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Episode 67 Overview

In this episode of #PodSaveChocolate, cacao fermentation visionary and maverick Bertus Eskes and I will be discussing his inspiration, journey, successes, and the challenges faced convincing “Big Chocolate” that they’ve been fermenting wrong for over 100 years (and smallholder farmers for hundreds and hundreds more).

Why? Because Bertus believes that:

  • All cacao, if fermented using his techniques, can be used to make fine-flavor chocolate;
  • That the distinction between commodity/bulk cacao and cacao fino y de aroma is a historical artifact that we need to move beyond; and
  • That modern processing techniques such as alkalization, which destroys the nutritional profile of cocoa products, are entirely unnecessary.

Background

There is no clear understanding of when fermenting cacao became a common practice.

In the places where cacao (Ecuador) and chocolate consumption (Mayan and pre-Maya Mesiamerica) originated, neither archaeological nor documentary evidence provides solid clues as to when the practice began. Even today in places like the State of Tabasco in Mexico cacao lavado (washed, unfermented) cacao is more prevalent than “well-fermented” cacao.

As the featured photo in this post shows, box fermentation where the boxes are arranged in a “cascade,” has been around for over 100 years. Well before this, individual cacao farmers would routinely heap ferment whatever amount of fresh cacao they harvested in banana leaf cocoons.

Until recently, protocols for fermenting cacao were rooted in history and tradition. Everyone “knows” that you needed to ferment for between three and seven days (depending on varietal phenotype), turning the fermenting seeds at intervals to introduce air to move from “anaerobic” to “aerobic” fermentation and to ensure even fermentation to achieve an “80% well-fermented” distribution, as determined by a cut test.

Within the past two decades, our understanding of cacao fermentation has evolved through a focus on chemistry – a better understanding of genetics, understanding the chemistry of the pulp (especially brix and pH), understanding the pH of the fresh cotyledons, understanding the local microbiome (the presence and mix of yeast and bacteria species) that drive primary and secondary fermentation, measuring temperature changes, and more.

The primary goals of these efforts have been to develop protocols that steer and control the chemistry of the fermenting seeds and dried beans to achieve greater consistency and create the potential for unique flavors in finished chocolate.

But is that the only way – or even the best way – to improve fermentation?

My guest today, Bertus Eskes, suggests there are other – better – ways to reimagine fermentation guided by a careful analysis of cacao pulp. Eskes is the innovator behind the TropMix, Tradima, and Anima fermentation methods. (These are described in the free-to-download PDF, click on the card below.)

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Email Bertus for information about implementing TropMix, Tradima, or Anima fermentations as a part of your post-harvest processing operations.

Questions?

If you have questions or want to comment, you can do so live during the episode or, if you are a ChocolateLife member, you can add them in the Comments below at any time.


#TropMix #Tradima #Anima
#Fermentation #Ferment #Fermented
#cocoa #cacao #cacau
#chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate
#PodSaveChocolate #PodSaveChoc
#LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife


Future Episodes

None scheduled when this post was published.


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PodSaveChocolate
Hosted by Clay Gordon, the creator and moderator of TheChocolateLife.com, #PodSaveChocolate covers a wide variety of topics in the worlds of cocoa and chocolate. The video versions of this podcast are hosted and archived on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Click on the PodSaveChocolate link in the top nav on TheChocolateLife for the links to the post accompanying each episode.

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